Author: staff
It’s that time of the year: the State of the European Union speech. Known in jargon as SOTEU, the hour-long address marks the start of the working season after the balmy holidays of August. Its protagonist, the president of the European Commission, relishes the all-eyes-on-me moment to show off recent achievements, preview forthcoming initiatives and set the political tone for the next 12 months. This year, however, the speech will sound anything but victorious. When Ursula von der Leyen steps on the floor of the European Parliament on Wednesday morning, she will find herself in a position that has until…
Europe remains a place of safe refuge for those fleeing conflict and climate change. But I am of the firm belief that migration needs to be managed. That is why, after the launch of the Migration and Asylum Pact, we created a plan to streamline deportations, toughen penalties for rejected migrants who do not leave the bloc, and create hubs in countries outside the EU to house people awaiting deportation. Migration is often exploited by populists for political gain. But we want to create a system that supports those with a genuine asylum claim while making clear the rules on…
In Gaza, more than 15,600 residents — many of whom suffer from life-threatening illnesses or conflict-related injuries —are in need of urgent medical evacuation, according to figures provided by the World Health Organization. But since the Hamas-led 7 October attack, fewer than 350 people, the majority of whom are children, were able to leave the embattled Strip and get medical treatment in the European Union. Despite an ever-deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, countries like Germany, Denmark and Austria have either welcomed very few patients from the strip or have not made any offer to take them in. Some government officials…
Gold has surged to the top of investors’ wish lists in 2025. The yellow metal, long revered as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical turmoil, has seen its price rocket to record highs above $3,600 (€3,080) per ounce, delivering returns of nearly 40% year-to-date ––gold’s best year since 1978. While global equity markets have delivered positive returns this year, they remain well behind gold’s performance. In contrast, bonds are enduring yet another year of disappointing performance. Why bonds no longer offer protection US Treasuries and European sovereign bonds have long served as shock absorbers in balanced portfolios. In times of…
Published on 09/09/2025 – 7:03 GMT+2 This August was the world’s third-warmest August on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Temperatures were 0.49°C above the 1991 to 2020 average for the month. C3S data shows that August 2025 was 0.22°C cooler than the two warmest Augusts on record in 2023 and 2024. Compared to the pre-industrial level, last month was 1.29°C warmer. And C3S says the last 12 months, from September 2024 to August 2025, have been 0.64°C above the 1991 to 2020 average and 1.53°C above the pre-industrial level. Overall, this summer has been the…
Zum Start der IAA in München steht Friedrich Merz als „Autokanzler“ unter massivem Druck. Eingekeilt zwischen Chinas E-Autos, Trumps Zöllen und dem Druck von Markus Söder muss der Kanzler die deutsche Schlüsselindustrie durch die Krise führen. Gordon Repinski analysiert die schwierige Mission.Im 200-Sekunden-Interview: Hildegard Müller. Die VDA-Präsidentin spricht von einer „Standortkrise“ und erklärt, wo sie dringend notwendige Änderungen sieht und wieso sie die Debatte über das Verbrenner-Verbot 2035 nicht als die dringlichste sieht.Außerdem: ein vorbestrafter Mitarbeiter und eine Fraktionsführung, die abtaucht. Pauline von Petzold über den neuen Ärger in der AfD-Fraktion.Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab…
MEPs are trying to prevent Hungarian Premier Viktor Orbán from accessing blocked EU funds after the midterm review of the EU’s cohesion funds. This review aims to reshuffle previously unused funding for defence and dual-use goods and to speed up the spending of the funds in the second half of the EU’s seven-year budgetary period. MEPs claim that the Hungarian government could unfreeze some money previously blocked by the European Commission, with the help of the reallocation, without fulfilling the EU’s conditions of academic freedom or LGBTQ+ rights. Hungary has already sought re-shuffling of cohesion funds German Green MEP Daniel Freund told…
Norway’s Labor Party led by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre claimed victory in the Scandinavian country’s general election on Monday in a narrow but clear win by the centre-left bloc. With most votes counted the left-wing bloc — comprised of four parties — is set to hold a majority of 89 seats, surpassing the 85-seat threshold. The centre-right alliance, led by the Progress Party and Conservatives, currently holds 80 seats. Støre thanked his supporters cheering in Oslo on Monday evening and said the victory showed it was possible for Social Democratic parties to win elections in Europe, despite right-wing parties…
“The Draghi report has become the economic doctrine of the EU, and everything we’ve proposed since has been aligned with it,” Stéphane Séjourné, the Commission executive vice president charged with industrial strategy, told POLITICO. Still, he admitted that the “’Draghi effect’ too often fades when legislative texts are discussed by member states.” A report by the European Policy Innovation Council think tank found that only 11 percent of the Draghi report had been acted on. In the field of energy, no actions have been completed at all. “It’s national interests, it’s national policies, sometimes it’s party political,” said MEP Anna Stürgkh,…
By Euronews & Olga Lavrentyeva Published on 05/09/2025 – 11:44 GMT+2 European honey production recovered in 2022 to 280,000 tonnes after declining for four consecutive years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bee diseases, pesticide use and climate change, according to Dutch government organisation CBI. EU’s biggest producers of honey in 2022 were Romania, Spain, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Greece, France and Poland, CBI’s data shows. European honey production has fluctuated considerably in recent years. Overall, honey production showed a negative trend, falling from 274,600 tonnes in 2018 to 228,300 tonnes in 2021 before going up again in 2022. The decline in European…